Car of missing NC woman found in Marion

Published: Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 8:05 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 8:05 a.m.

MARION, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in McDowell County have found a body in the car of a Gaston County woman missing since October.

North Carolina Highway Patrol Sgt. Kevin Owens says the wreck was found off U.S. 221 south of Marion on Monday.

Owens says investigators could not positively identify the body until an autopsy is performed. But he says the vehicle is registered to 27-year-old Elizabeth Estelle Stonger of Lowell, who was last seen Oct. 14 when she left her job as a cashier at a store in Belmont.

Owens says the car fell about 150 feet over a drop beside a rural road.

Investigators say Stonger's cell phone was last used in McDowell County the evening she disappeared. She has not used her financial cards or social media since she disappeared.

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